On our latest blog post, we shared the benefits of running online events and why you should consider turning your in-person conference into a virtual summit. Today, we will share an implementation guide with technical considerations and event requirements you need to know before you plan your online event and how to implement it.

Having the right technology stack is essential to run a successful virtual conference. Here are some pieces that you can put together separately, or use a platform like Attendease, which can provide all of the below from one unique platform:

This will come as no surprise, but the first thing you need to think about is building an event website. You should make a list of specific event needs that you need to consider depending on your event format. Here are a few things to consider:

Whether you have a simple or a complex event, you need to consider a registration system. Here are a few considerations:

Create an email strategy that starts with promotional messages to your mailing list, and also include:

Choose a virtual conference platform to host your sessions, such as Zoom, GoToWebinar, YouTube, Vimeo, or others. 

In addition to having the right technology, make sure you and all speakers have access to high-speed internet, camera, microphone, and proper lighting. If you want to have a branded background for your broadcasts, plan it in advance. This could be a good opportunity to promote sponsors as well.

Ready to search for the right online event platform to host your virtual event? Register to watch the on-demand webinar to see Attendease in action and how it can help you champion your event management needs.

Most corporate events that are held in-person can also be held online, given the great flexibility of online technologies we have available today. With the global impact caused by the novel coronavirus in the world of events, turning your in-person conference into a virtual summit may be a good strategy to keep your event running, rather than canceling it.

Similar to a conventional conference, a virtual conference may happen over the span of multiple days and can hold multiple sessions each day. It can be as simple or as complex as needed, whether you will offer overlapping sessions or one session at a time, free or paid, private or public. Attendees can register for specific sessions they want to attend and can easily get a recording of the session, in case they are not available to connect at the time of the event. 

Using the right technology, virtual conferences can take advantage of similar features that are common in in-person events, such as :

Here are six reasons why you should consider running a virtual summit:

Savings from venue expenses alone may already make a compelling case to choose a virtual meeting instead, but there are many other costs associated with in-person events that can be saved when shifting to online, including a significant cut in staff, catering, print material, swag, accommodation for speakers, insurance, and more. In addition, you may gain more audience, as online events go beyond borders, and it’s an incentive for those who would be required to travel instead.

Most online events will have the same fixed cost, regardless of the size of your event. You may see increased fees for technologies used depending on the number of attendees you have, but the cost of production and execution will remain virtually the same, regardless of your event size. This makes it much easier to scale your event. Another advantage is that, by running your event online, you don’t have to worry about only being able to accommodate a certain number of guests. In the online world, you can host an event for thousands of people without worrying about physical constraints. 

Unless there is a major energy black-out, rest assured you will be able to run your online event as scheduled. You will rarely (if ever) see an online event canceled due to weather conditions or even a pandemic. Online events are pretty reliable and dependant mostly on the technology being used. 

You can keep your engagement levels high even when running your events online. Event planners can use tools such as polls, Q&A, live chat, to name a few. 

The average conference produces 4.17 lbs of waste per attendee, per day (3.53 lbs of which will go to a landfill). Compounded across a three-day event with 1,000 attendees, this adds up to just over 12,500 lbs of waste – roughly equivalent to the weight of four compact cars. Running your events online can help the planet by avoiding such waste.

Unlike in-person events, online events can effortlessly provide important data to help you make decisions: you can learn precisely how many people checked in for each session, how long they stayed tuned in for, how many questions were asked (and what questions), and more.

If you are ready to learn more about running your next event online, watch our webinar on-demand: Running Online events with Attendease.

Planning an event is no easy task: event managers must be detail oriented and extremely organized in order to keep track of an entire array of variables. Always aiming to make your life easier, we have put together an event marketing calendar template, so you can plan your entire marketing communication schedule ahead of time, and have a bird’s eye view into your event communication throughout the entire event lifecycle.

The marketing calendar template is divided by weeks, which are grouped together as pre-event, during the event, and post-event sections. You may add or remove as many weeks as necessary to adjust to your event needs. Remember that the sooner you start promoting your event the better, as you can start selling tickets early on, in addition to building awareness towards the event.

A marketing calendar template will help you define when each message will be sent, but not necessarily what message will be shared. That’s why we added a line for theme messages, so you can map out what key messages should be shared at which stage. Here are some theme ideas that you may want to consider when planning your event marketing calendar:

You may want to include milestones in your event marketing calendar. For example, you can plan how many tickets you would like to have sold by a certain date. This will be especially helpful to help plan your marketing messages based on these milestones.

If you are running a paid event, you should include the ticket price, as well as special offers and dates related to the offers, including early-bird pricing, promo codes, and pricing tiers for different segments. This may also help guide your communication strategy.

Need help developing a price and promotion strategy for your event? Check out this Ticket Pricing Strategy Guide that covers proven tips to help you determine your ticket pricing strategy, and ensure the financial success of your event.

Before you start planning your email strategy, think about what segments you can market to. For example, you can email people who attended your events in the past and people in your mailing list that haven’t attended an event yet. You can also think in terms of marketing to members and non-members of your organization. Go over your email lists and define which segments are relevant to your event and which messages you can send to each of these groups. With email marketing being one of the top ticket-selling channels for events, you want to make sure to start emailing early and often.

Content is still king, so whether you are writing optimized copy to generate more organic traffic to your event website, or to reach new audiences, this is a strategy you must consider for your event.

Blog: Blog posts are an easy way to talk about your event and you can repurpose the content by sharing the article through email and social media. You should also consider reaching out to industry blogs and offer a guest post, in order to reach new audiences. A lot of sites accept guest posts, which is free, so you should definitely try it.

Press Release: The power of the media should not be underestimated. Investing in a press release and reaching out to media outlets can create a lot of buzz around your event. This can not only reach new audiences, but also give that extra sales push by influencing those who haven’t decided to attend the event yet. Think about what angle to take, and share interesting, newsworthy content. Why is your event unique? Why should people care about it? If possible, add quotes, interviews, relevant stats, and anything else that may get the journalist’s attention.

Influencer Outreach:  Research digital influencers in your industry and reach out to ask if they would be interested in a partnership. While most influencers with 100k+ followers will likely charge for a post, you may contact micro-influencers, who have less followers, but reaches a niche market. Some may be willing to promote the event in exchange for free tickets, and some may request more perks in exchange for their voice.

Partnerships: As with influencers, you may create other sorts of partnerships. For the purpose of this event marketing calendar, you should think about partnerships that will help you achieve your marketing goals. Consider potential collaborators, complimentary brands, media partners, in-kind sponsors, and more. Once you close the deal, make sure to make things easy for them. You should create banners with their photos/ logos, blog posts, and anything else they need to share the event with their audience.

Event Listings: Listing your event on different online directories may help with your event SEO – which can expand your organic reach. Check a list of sites to list your event in this blog post (alongside other tips to improve the SEO for your event website).

It’s also worth getting into social media early on, to build awareness and drive buzz.

If appropriate to your event, you should create an event on Facebook which can help expand your reach: when people RSVP to your Facebook event, their friends and connections may start seeing the event too, which puts the event in front of more people. To take even greater advantage of this, consider boosting your event using Facebook advertising.

You can also start the conversation on Twitter early on, and make sure to create your unique event hashtag.

Continue to share information about the event, speakers, attractions, and everything else relevant to the event, so your audience is always reminded and up to date. Consider paid posts on social media in order to reach your targeted audience.

In addition to social media advertising, think about other forms of online advertising. Google AdWords is a good option, and here are some ads you might consider for your event:

Ready to start building your event marketing calendar? Download the spreadsheet template so you can build your communication calendar ahead of time and be on top of your marketing strategy. — or learn more about Attendease’s event marketing module.